Raincoats and Maple Syrup
by igirisexual
Summary: Anya is a routine girl who attends W. Academy. One dull Monday morning, she comes across a cute boy in a bright raincoat who brings a plethora of new feelings and new experiences to her life. Through hardship and heat, through cold and isolation, love will always find a way. RusCan with Nyo!Russia. High School AU. Oneshot. Rated M for sex scene.


Anya shifted her weight from foot to foot. It was Monday morning. It was all the same as usual. She had gotten out of bed to quiet death metal playing from her alarm. She had showered and then blow-dried her hair, before combing and calming her lengthy blonde tresses and putting on her uniform. She had never been a big fan of the W. Academy girls' uniform, wondering if she could just purchase and wear the boys' uniform instead. That way, her awkward pudgy thighs would be much more covered than they were by that damned skirt that refused to do its job of covering her skin. She had taken to wearing stockings, and pulled the black garment up her legs, puffing still at the waistband that dug into her. Now, she wasn't necessarily fat: more that she was just a fan of food who was too lazy to do anything about losing her chub. At last, she slipped on her white Mary Janes, and her thick beige scarf, and glanced herself over in the mirror. She considered putting on makeup, but then quietly laughed at herself. She never did that. It was always just a stray thought, a question of _would people like me if I looked prettier?_

She walked downstairs, glancing nervously to her brothers, Dmitri and Nikolai, at the breakfast table as she sat down. There was already a bowl of cereal in front of her spot. "Did you know that in 1995, over 152 million guys had erectile dysfunction?" Nikolai was always a bright light. Ivan, their father, coughed from the kitchen and turned to look at his daughter with a stern glare.

"Please, Nikolai, keep the disturbing facts for school." Anya laughed weakly and eyed her bowl of cereal as Dmitri tried not to cry at the thought of penis problems. Considering it was common knowledge that he had one of the biggest around, he did have every right to be worried. Ah, awkward morning conversations.

Anya half-heartedly ate her cereal. It was a sugary brand, one which she didn't really like. It was okay on the tongue, she supposed, but as most artificially sweetened things did, it gave a terrible aftertaste. Surprisingly enough, Nikolai ate it by the ton, and therefore, Ivan bought it for everyone. "Did you know?" Nikolai asked, resting his elbows on the table and staring directly at Anya. She glanced up for a second, and jumped.

"Uh-.. Uhm, no, I did not." She answered quietly, sweating bullets. When her brother didn't stop staring yet didn't say another word, she slowly got up, taking her bowl to the kitchen.

"Erectile dysfunction," whispered Nikolai as he turned to face his quivering brother.

"Is Nikolai bothering you?" Ivan asked as Anya washed up her bowl and spoon.

"He always bothers me," Anya retorted softly, half watching her father make himself some toast. "Can I have some of that?" Ivan rolled his eyes, but nodded and took the toasted slices out of the toaster. Once they were buttered and jam was spread, Ivan handed over one of the slices to his daughter, taking the other for himself.

"You wouldn't want my toast if you ate all your cereal," he pointed out.

"But it's all sugary and not very nice after you eat it."

"Is that the real reason why you want my toast?"

"Sure."

After eating her slice of toast, Anya shuffled forward and hugged her father. He pet her back and pecked the top of her head – it was almost becoming a feat to do, as Anya had definitely inherited his height, and was growing faster than he could keep track of. "I should get going," she puffed quietly. "I'll see you when I get home."

"Have a nice day," Ivan cooed, before letting her go. "You too, you two," he hummed to his sons, who were most probably not in the mood for a big fatherly hug.

Sighing, Anya pulled her bag up to her shoulder – it was a satchel, a shoulder bag, as she found these bags easiest to carry about without getting caught on her hair – and headed to the door. She was hoping that, if she walked fast enough, she could get away from her brothers for a little bit. It wasn't that she didn't like them, hell, she loved them to death, but she was always a little frightened by them. Well, she was frightened of Nikolai. Dmitri just didn't want to spend time or attention on her. Regardless of whether they would catch her or not, she scurried out of the house and onto the veranda.

It was raining. To put it simply. To put it in a more poetic way would be to say that the sky wept and wept, shedding her tears across the earth and bringing life from her melancholy. But this isn't a poem, and it was raining. Anya bit her lip and scurried out through the yard, knowing that she could probably get to the bus shelter down the street and not get too soaked. She almost tripped a few times, cursing her clumsiness as she bumbled her way to the bus shelter. Tired and a little soggy, she brushed off the water from her pale arms, and stared at the road.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anya caught a glimpse of something bright to contrast the dull grey of the world around her. She turned, and that bright raincoat dulled in comparison to the boy who wore it. He was simply gorgeous in Anya's eyes, a boy worthy of being a model. His hair fell in two blond curtains, framing his slightly chubby face and curling at the tips. His skin was pale, albeit not as pale as hers, and he wore large round glasses that were just a little speckled by rain. Anya swore she jumped when he moved to take them off and clean them against his bright yellow raincoat, as if she had thought him a beautiful marble figure to be held forever in one frame of action.

It seemed he had caught her staring. "Oh, hello," he said, voice very quiet against the pitter-patter of rain against the roof of the bus shelter. It may have been quiet, but it was gentle too, and was so very sweet. Anya just continued to stare, unable to utter a single word. She tried, I assure you, but she could only open her mouth and close it again, giving the appearance of a gulping fish. "You've got jam," the boy pointed out, touching at a spot on his cheek before sliding his glasses back on. Anya instinctively lifted her hand and indeed found a small spot of raspberry jam aside her mouth, and felt herself go red with embarrassment. "Are you a student at the school here?"

A question. Anya had to answer, and she found her heart nervously jumping in her chest. "Yes," she stammered quickly, looking down at him, rather unable to shake her gaze.

"Ah, I thought so. I could tell by your uniform, eh." He smiled, a beautiful, sunny smile, and nodded his head. "World Academy, huh? It sounds like a real interesting place."

"Yes," Anya said dumbly.

"You don't talk much?"

"Yes."

"That's okay. I don't really talk much either."

An odd silence then fell between them, and Anya finally forced herself to look away. It seems her brothers had caught up, Dmitri holding an umbrella for both he and Nikolai. Anya must've looked nervous, and she scolded herself for it while in the presence of such a pretty boy. "Hello," he said kindly, leaning forward and smiling a little at the two brothers. Nikolai grimaced and hissed, and the boy leant back, frowning. The bus came shortly after, and Anya stepped on, her brothers in tow. They tapped their transport cards against the register, and shuffled back onto the bus, ready for their commute to fun old school.

Anya didn't expect the pretty boy to get on the bus. He did, although he pulled his wallet out and fumbled over coins and notes to give the driver. There were people behind him, and the driver just waved his hand and ushered the boy to go and sit down. He bit his lip and hurried up the bus. He seemed quite addled at all the other people on the bus eyeing him, whispering things to their elbow partners. He took a deep breath, puffed, and sat down in the first empty seat he saw. Terrifyingly enough, it was beside Anya.

She was trying not to panic or anything, trying very hard not to get flustered at just how _pretty_ he was. In all honesty, if she wasn't a coward and an anxious loser, Anya would have reached out then and there and just touched his skin to see if it was as smooth as it looked. "Hello," he said quietly, turning and giving her a little smile. "Again, I mean."

"Yes," said Anya, mentally slapping herself for saying that damned word for the fourth time. "I, er, I mean, hello."

"You say you don't talk much, but you should, you have a lovely voice," the boy said quietly, taking off his raincoat and lifting his bag. Beneath the bright yellow coat had been the blue cardigan and undershirt of W. Academy. So he was a student.

Anya turned red, instantly turning away and staring out the window. "Sorry..?" the boy said quietly. "Er, my name's Matthew. Um, full name is Matthew Williams."

"Hello Matthew Williams," Anya said quickly, not turning to look back at him. Luckily, Nikolai and Dmitri sat at the back, quietly conversing amongst one another. That usually meant Nikolai saying bad things about penises, and Dmitri crying.

"So, what's your name? I've just transferred from the school in the next town over, so we're gonna be seeing each other around school grounds," he nodded a little. Anya's words were eaten up before she could even let them out of her mouth.

"Anya Braginsky," a familiar and snarky voice sounded as a girl swiped her transport card and marched down the aisle. She stood in it, holding onto one of the poles. She was tall, although not as tall as Anya, and had long white hair that fell to her thighs. And she was the biggest bitch in school. "Still ugly as ever. When're you going to get rid of that stupid scarf? It's gonna get stolen if you don't keep it somewhere safe," she smirked, leaning past the boy as if he wasn't there and grabbing onto the scarf around Anya's neck. With it, she was pulled towards this girl, forced to stare her in the face. She went to say something, but her scarf was yanked, and in that motion, untied, and it went into the girl's arms.

"Give it back, Julchen!" Anya huffed, reaching over Matthew and trying to grab it back. Every time Anya gained an inch, Julchen would lean back, making the scarf out of reach again. "Give it back!"

"You didn't keep it somewhere safe, bad things are gonna happen!" She laughed, lifting the scarf as if she were to rip it.

"Don't!" Anya came close to screaming as she scrambled over the boy in an attempt to get the garment back. "Fucking don't!"

In an attempt to regain some normalcy on his first day of school, Matthew just stood up and punched Julchen in the face. He then took the scarf right out of her hands, and handed it back to Anya before sitting in his seat and huffing softly. Anya was utterly stunned, and she clutched her scarf tightly to her chest. Trying her best not to hyperventilate, she shuffled past the boy and sat back down. "Thank you," she uttered weakly as the German girl in the aisle held a hand to her bleeding nose and stormed up to find a seat.

"So, your name's Anya?" Matthew said as if he hadn't just punched a bitch in the face.

"Seriously, thank you," Anya nodded, hesitantly curling the scarf around her neck again. "Erm, yes, I'm Anya.." she sighed. Perhaps she felt a little safer around this boy now. He had just saved her quite some hassle. "I am in tenth year," she stated quietly. "I'm sixteen in December. You know, like I'm a year up from the rest of the grade because my birthday is late in the year," she said awkwardly.

"I'm fifteen, just turned it in July," Matthew smiled. "So I'll be in your grade. They really make these uniforms soft, don't they?"

"Mine is not soft," Anya stated quietly, a little angry at the clothes she currently bore. "It is quite uncomfortable, actually. The shirt material is stiff and is very uncomfortable in summers like this. And it is white, so it goes see-through when it rains," she frowned. That was a lot of talking, and she was proud of herself.

"Oh, I see," he frowned. "Are you allowed to wear the boys' uniform, then?"

"Yes, but then there is Julchen, who you have just punched," Anya pointed out. "She enjoys making my life miserable. She would mock me to no end."

"Oh," Matthew murmured, looking down.

"You can feel my uniform if you want proof that it's bad," Anya said quietly, wanting to change the subject from the bratty girl now standing up back and complaining endlessly to her little brother. Matthew was quite hesitant, but he reached over and put a hand to Anya's short sleeve, creasing his brow.

"I'd hate to have to wear that every day," he frowned, pinching the material a bit.

"It's these silly suspenders that annoy me the most," Anya said quietly, looking down at the uniform suspenders that were hooked up and over her shoulders. "They feel like they're made out of leather." On cue, Matthew's hand moved to touch the suspenders before his mind moved to tell him just where the hell those suspenders rested.

Anya's eyes widened a little and she looked down, just staring at Matthew's hand upon her chest. "You're touching my breast," she said quietly, looking up at the pretty boy and getting butterflies all over again. Okay, this was stupid. His eyes widened incredibly, and he slowly dropped his gaze to his hand resting upon her bosom, before recoiling entirely and jumping back, letting out a weak squeak and covering his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry," he cried softly. "My first day and I'm already embarrassing myself."

"It's okay," she said quietly, admittedly a little flushed still. She saw to it that she calmed herself down around Matthew now. Perhaps, if he didn't turn out to be a douchebag like every other guy she'd tried to befriend, they could become close. She needed to keep her cool for that, though. "But, uh, that is the first time someone other than me has touched them," she stated softly. This seemed to worsen the situation, as Matthew appeared to shrink into himself and turn redder than a rose.

Things were quiet a little while, until the bus stopped again to pick up another couple of students. The first was a young boy that Anya had once crushed literally and crushed on. The boy behind him was a boy she had caught glimpses of in the school corridors. He was a friend of Julchen's, and therefore no friend of hers. She supposed that he looked a little like Matthew, but was hardly as gorgeous as he was. He also had glasses, but they were square-rimmed, and not cute. He marched down the aisle, stopping right at Matthew.

"Dude!" he cried, reaching down and throwing his arms around Matthew.

"Alfred?!" Matthew gasped, looking up and awkwardly hugging him back. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, I'd guess going to school?" he scoffed, patting his chest.

"Alfred," Matthew said solemnly, looking rather downed all of a sudden. "You know we're not supposed to see each other any more."

"Well, Dad's not gonna know if it's just at school," he retorted. "C'mon, bro, ditch the fat chick and come sit with me and Julchen."

Anya tensed and frowned. So Matthew was to be led away to join the bitch parade. She supposed that left her with one friend, Chun-Yan, but she had moved far away a long time ago, and seemed not to want to keep in contact. Anya had sent letters at first, but they were all unreturned, and she gave up.

"No." Matthew said bluntly, staring up at his brother. "I don't like her. It's only my first day, and I'm going to-" He was cut off as Alfred's booming voice silenced him.

"Hahhah!" Alfred laughed irritatingly, grabbing Matthew's arm. "Let's get away before Anya fucking curses you or something."

And Matthew was gone, dragged up to the back of the bus. Anya bit her lip and stared out the window, doing her best to block it out. She would be alone again. Of course. The bus _finally_ pulled up at school, and she waited quietly for everyone else to file out before she trailed them and got off the bus dead last. She was greeted by those same cold iron gates as always, the ones that tried to look ornate while they were crafted on a low budget. Most of the school's money went to education, of course, and décor was a secondary aspect. She passed them, thinking naught about the raggedy bushes that were eating away at the fences. She found it a little sad that there was a swingset about the front of the school. It was old with two seats and really, it was probably a safety hazard, but there was a goddamned swingset in a high school. Anya had considered just going and swinging on it at some time, but had told herself she'd get called childish.

She shuffled her way in, less than eager for roll class. Roll class was a fifteen minute class before nine o' clock where students would be ushered into homeroom by alphabetical surname order, and would then have their names marked off on the roll to ensure that they were there today. She waited around outside the door, sighing when her fellow roll class members showed up.

Anya's first class after homeroom was monotonous: an English lesson was never much fun to someone whose first language was Russian. She could speak English, sure, but it was hell to try and write in. She just sat there, tried to understand stupid English spelling, and wandered out when the bell rang. She was lucky enough not to see Julchen as she traversed the corridors. The second class was a little better. It was art, a much less menial subject than English, in Anya's opinion. She wasn't exactly brilliant, and she certainly wasn't talented, but she enjoyed drawing cute pictures of dogs or cats until the end of the lesson. Today she'd drawn a wolf. After the electronic bell sound from the loudspeakers, an announcement boomed into the corridors.

"_Matthew Williams, Tenth Year, is to report to Math Room C immediately._"

And then silence again. Well, there was always the background noise of student chatter as Anya exited her art classroom. She didn't quite know why, but for some reason, her feet led her to Math C. It wasn't as if she had somewhere to be or a friend to catch up with. She may as well see what the new boy had gotten himself into. Then again, he probably didn't like her.

She waited awkwardly outside the room of Math C, resting her back up against the wall and watching people walk by in the corridor. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened. Matthew walked out, puffing and mumbling curses to himself. He caught sight of her, and looked up suddenly. "Anya," he greeted, walking towards her and fixing his backpack. "Why're you here?"

_No reason_, she thought, but then reminded herself it wasn't nice to lie. "I heard you had to go here, so.." she trailed off, fidgeting with her hands. "I don't know, I just-"

"Yeah, can you believe they gave me a detention on my first hecking day?" Matthew whined, slumping where he stood. "It should be illegal to do that, eh." Anya laughed softly.

"Was it about Julchen this morning?" she queried almost under her breath. Although it was an honest question, she didn't want to be the cause of Matthew's trouble.

"Yeah, she told on me," he replied in a very childish tone. "She shouldn't have taken your scarf. Which looks nice, by the way. Suits you."

Anya flushed and looked down. "Mm, yes, thank you," he said after a moment of silence. "Th-.. Er, thank you again about this morning.." She raised her eyes to give him a look over, but that only revealed that he was as red as she was.

"No problem," he said as if he wasn't burning up right now. "But we should probably get going in case my brother, or worse, the bitch queen, shows up."

"The bitch queen," echoed Anya with a little smile as she and Matthew shuffled off down the hall. "What an eloquent title for her."

"My papa says I shouldn't use the B word," Matthew snickered. They went now to the cafeteria to purchase some sustenance for the day.

"What would you like to get?" Anya asked softly as she walked Matthew up to the counter. He seemed to be giving everything a once-over, as if to ensure that yes, that was a real taco, or no, that couldn't possibly be actual pudding. He finally settled on ordering the pancakes, which were the cafeteria special today. Anya bought soup. They went and settled down not at a cafeteria table, but in one of the corners of the room upon the floor, as cafeteria tables were for people with friends.

"I'm glad I haven't seen Alfred again," Matthew mumbled as he attacked his pancakes with plastic knife and fork. "But this school is so awesome for having pancakes in the cafeteria. They're my favourite." He was smiling even as he ate, and Anya thought he looked like an adorable grinning squirrel.

"They're a Monday special," Anya nodded, and watched his eyes go wide. "Yes, I am glad Alfred hasn't visited again. Not to offend, but I've always thought him a menace."

"Well," he sighed, pulling his bag around and rummaging about in it. "Our parents divorced, and thanks to custody stuff we're not allowed to see each other. So, yeah."

"I'm sorry," said Anya quietly.

"Oh? Oh, no, don't worry about it," Matthew said sweetly, and then seemed to find what he had been looking for. "Aha!" he cried as he pulled out a large juice bottle full of something.. Oh.

"Do you always carry that around?" Anya asked with a chuckle. Okay, it was kind of very adorable that the Canadian kid carried around a two litre bottle of maple syrup. "Goodness."

"Papa tried to stop me," he hummed as he unscrewed the lid and pretty much drenched his pancakes. "Maple syrup goes well with everything."

"I see," she mused, watching with amusement and eating her soup.

"Hey, I'll trade you my last pancake for," Matthew paused, leaning over to look into the paper cup that held Anya's soup. There was hardly any left. "The rest of your soup."

"But why?" she frowned, tilting her head rather quizzically. "That is hardly a fair trade."

"I wanna try your soup, eh," Matthew nodded, pointing to the paper cup. Anya sighed and handed it over. Matthew, in turn, slid the little styrofoam plate that was drowned in syrup over to her.

It was hard to get at. I mean, honestly, there was a whole _layer_ of maple syrup on it. Anya wondered how many cavities Matthew had experienced in his life. Still, she picked up the plastic utensils and sliced up the final pancake. She ate it, and it was surprisingly good. It was a situation of _would you like some pancake with that maple syrup?_, but it still tasted nice. "Thank you," she said after it was finished, and caught Matthew smiling at her. Or perhaps it was to her. She couldn't be sure.

He simply smiled in return, but something caught his eye. "You've got syrup," he pointed out, reaching out and poking the little spot of syrup aside Anya's mouth.

"Oh," she blushed, grabbing for a serviette from Matthew's plate. She then wiped her mouth and awkwardly crumpled the napkin. "I'm a bit of a messy eater."

"It's okay," he nodded. "One time, I was eating a waffle, and I looked down, and I was wearing it." Anya giggled.

She smiled and shrugged her broad shoulders. "I have never worn a waffle before. I think you'd be quite fashionable in one."

"Really?" he snorted. "Yeah, I totally worked that waffle. I was so sexy."

After a little while of silence, Matthew spoke up again. "Does no-one else sit with you at lunch? Or am I making you miss time with you friends-.. Ah, sorry, I didn't even think to ask-"

"I am alone," Anya said bluntly, looking down at the ground. "I don't have any friends."

"Yes you do," Matthew corrected in a quiet tone. "Oh, erm-" he faltered. "Unless you don't want me to be your friend."

"Oh." Anya looked up, finding Matthew fiddling with his hands. "Yes! I'd very much like to be your friend, I-.."

"Friends it is, then."

The next few days were a little awkward, but definitely new to Anya. It was incredibly pleasant to have someone to be around, even if Anya forgot he was there sometimes and became lost in her own thoughts. They tried their best to avoid Julchen and Alfred, and managed to do so well for the bulk of the week. Yes, there were a few sightings from across the corridor, but Matthew would pull Anya away and into the crowds before she could get involved.

On Saturday, Matthew had invited Anya over for a sleepover. Seeing as she had never been to one, Matthew thought it incredibly necessary. Anya was given a list over the phone of what she needed to bring, and she made sure to pack. The only thing was, she hadn't asked her father.

"Dad?" Anya said quietly on Saturday afternoon, looking down in apprehension of what was to come.

"Yes?" he replied, looking up from where he'd been browsing the newspaper. "Something up?"

"Erm, you know that boy I told you about?" she queried softly.

"The Canadian one you've got a crush on?"

"I do not have a crush on him! Bu-.. but anyway!" she puffed hotly. "He's invited me over to his house for the night, for a sleepover," she mumbled. "Can I go?"

Ivan seemed hesitant to give her an answer. "Uhm.. Don't let him force you into anything," he nodded after a while, petting Anya's shoulder. "You're still young. Make sure you two use protection."

"Dad!" she cried, hitting his arm lightly. "Goodness, we are not going to do anything like that! It is just a sleepover!" Anya whimpered, terribly red and flustered. "Besides, we are only friends! And I am much too shy to even think about anything like that! Goodness!"

Ivan laughed awkwardly and pet his daughter's head. "I'm sorry," he chuckled quietly. "I am only winding you up. Have a good time at your friend's house, okay?"

Anya was terribly frightened when she tried to find Matthew's house. Supposedly it was only a few down the street, but it was hard to locate when she was very anxious. For some reason, she was worried about her clothes, wondering if they were pretty enough. She was just wearing a band t-shirt, jeans, and converse, and she regretted all of these choices as soon as she left the house. She should've worn a dress. That way, she would have been perceived as girly and pretty. But then again, why would she do that? These clothes were comfortable, and she wasn't trying to impress anyone. That's what she told herself, but it wasn't the truth.

At last, she found the right number, and walked up to the door. She knocked only twice before the door swung open, and a gorgeous older man appeared. So that was where Matthew got his looks. "_Bonjour_," he smiled rather dazzlingly, and bowed his head a touch. "You're Matthew's friend, Anya, _non_?"

"Yes," she nodded awkwardly. "Is he here right now?"

"Of course," the man chuckled. "Come inside, _mon ami_. _Mon ange _is in his room, upstairs. It is the first door on your right."

Anya smiled a little and thanked him, and then awkwardly shuffled through the house. She climbed the stairs, and looked to the closed door. On it, 'Matthew' was spelled in wooden letters, and a picture of the Canadian flag was pasted beneath them. She chuckled. Slowly, she knocked on the door. "Matthew?" There seemed to be some clatter inside, before Matthew called back an '_I'll be ready in like five seconds!_'. There was more shuffling from inside, until the door burst open and a raggedy looking Matthew stood there.

He wasn't dressed too fancily, wearing just a hoodie and shorts, so Anya felt a little more comfortable. "Sorry," he laughed awkwardly. "I just woke up."

"It's one in the afternoon," Anya pointed out.

"School really knocks me out," Matthew refuted.

"Me too. Shall I come in?"

"Of course."

Anya went in and sat awkwardly on the floor, looking around at the walls already covered in posters. "How long have you been here?"

"Two weeks," he shrugged. "I was only made to come to school on Monday, so I had a week before that to get all my stuff unpacked and set up. You can sit on my bed, if you want."

"I'm fine," she nodded, resting back on her hands. "You have a nice room."

An awkward silence came across the two for a while, with the both of them itching to say something, but having no interesting conversation topics at hand. "Do you want to listen to the radio?" Matthew asked after a while, and Anya shortly nodded. He switched on the stereo, and lay down on the floor, beside where she was sitting. They listened to music for god knows how long, with Anya singing along quietly to the songs she knew, and Matthew joining her later. Before either of them knew how much time had passed, they had ended up singing stupid songs together with Matthew on guitar and Anya on lead vocals. They would make a pretty good band.

"Kids?" Francis called from outside, knocking on the door. "Dinner's ready, come downstairs."

"We'll be there in a minute!" retorted Matthew, putting his guitar down and getting to his feet. "Dad said we're having barbecue," he hummed, opening his door and waiting for Anya to follow him. She did so, and the pair went downstairs. Dinner was a little different to what Anya was used to. Francis had used the portable stove outside to cook various meats and whatnot, and had set everything up outside. It was a nice change to overly-sugary crap or bland sludge.

She sat down at the picnic table in the yard, fiddling with her hands under the table as Matthew sat beside her, and Francis lay out the plates of various things like sausages, buns, chicken and whatnot. Anya tried to eat lightly to show that she wasn't a pig, but found it hard when everything tasted so good. Matthew ate just as much as her, thankfully, so she didn't feel bad at all. Francis was a good cook, even if his meal was just meat on a barbecue. Surely he had some secrets.

After eating, Matthew took Anya to the living room, where he had already collected a mass of blankets and made lots of popcorn. He put on some movie, although neither of them were paying attention, as they were to talk through the whole thing anyway.

"Can I braid your hair?" Matthew asked quietly as the movie started to play. Anya tilted her head a bit, but nodded.

"Yeah, just be gentle, I think," she nodded. "I've never braided my hair before, so I don't know."

"I used to practice braiding papa's," he hummed, giving her the popcorn and shuffling closer so that he could access her hair. She turned to give him that access, and cautiously ate a bit of popcorn.

He was more or less a pro, doing a lovely and thick braid that reached down Anya's back by the time he was done.

"Wow," she cooed quietly, glancing over her shoulder to look at it. "It's lovely, thank you," she hummed, handing over the popcorn again, even though it was almost empty. "Perhaps sometime you can teach me to braid."

They headed upstairs after that, dragging with them all of the blankets from the living room. Matthew tossed them on the floor, along with all the pillows in the house, and created a big clusterfuck of comfort. He enticed Anya to go and get changed into her pyjamas, and she shuffled to the bathroom to do so. Was it embarrassing that her pyjamas were pink and had bunnies on them? They looked like they were for little children, really. She huffed and put them on anyway, before scuttling back to Matthew's room and hesitantly opening the door.

"Don't come in-" cried Matthew, only in boxers at that point. Anya jumped back and slammed the door shut, incredibly embarrassed. She was inwardly screaming at herself for not knocking.

"I am very sorry!" she called, fretting. She heard a zip being pulled, and Matthew opened the door again, wearing a damned adorable bear kigurumi.

"Hey, um, it's okay," he smiled, taking a moment, a split second, to look Anya over. "I like your PJ's."

Anya smiled and entered the room, laying down amongst the mass of pillows and blankets, with Matthew shortly joining her. He had turned off the lights, and Anya stared up in amazement at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling. "This is really nice," she cooed quietly, resting her hands on her chest. "You're a really nice guy, Matthew."

"Oh," he smiled, quite red. "You're a nice girl too, Anya. Wanna play truth or dare? You go first."

"Matthew, truth or dare?" Anya asked quietly. Sure, she'd never had any friends to play the game with, but she at least knew how it worked.

"Truth."

"This is probably silly and childish, but _who do you like_?" She asked, feeling rather lame for just asking that. She could always pray that he'd answer _you_, but that was a far-fetched and selfish want.

"Not anyone in particular," he shrugged. Well, at least he didn't like someone else. "Truth or dare, Anya."

"Erm, truth." She nodded, rolling onto her side to face Matthew in the dark of the room.

"Right, um.. What kind of person are you into?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Oh, uhm-" she stammered. Why on earth would he ask that! "I.. I like nice people with nice hearts.. If they're mean, I don't like them at all."

"I meant like boys, girls, both, neither, that kinda stuff," Matthew said flushedly, looking down. "I'm bi, so don't worry, I won't judge."

"U-um," she blushed, embarrassed at herself. "Boys, I guess? I don't know, I've never really thought about it."

"Okay," he nodded, coughing and fixing up his glasses. "Your turn."

"Truth or dare, Matthew."

The two of them were fast asleep before they knew it, dozing comfortably amongst all the bedding and pillows strewn about the room. When Anya woke, she skipped the offer of breakfast, and dawdled about until her father came to pick her up. She said a goodbye to Matthew, and headed home. Having a friend was certainly very nice.

In whatever time the two had free from school, they would do something together. Be it getting together for pizza, going out skating, or simply having one another over, they always had a good time, and Anya was so damned content with everything. It was one of these times with Matthew that he called a date, and she felt nervous whenever her mind drifted to it. They were to go to a little fete, a school fair put on by the local primary school. And Matthew had called it a date.

Anya dressed up for this. She put on her best perfume, and tried not to wobble out of the house on unstable legs. She didn't wear anything overly fancy, but she put on her best jacket atop a pretty shirt, and wore a combo of skirt, leggings, and high boots. She hoped it was enough to impress. As her father took her to the primary school, she hugged her knees and sat anxiously. Had Matthew really taken romantic interest in here? It was frightening, to say the least. But they'd been friends a while, maybe this was just a natural thing? Then again, she'd had feelings for him since day one.

"Here you are," Ivan said as he pulled up outside her destination. "Have a good time, Anya."

"I will," she nodded, getting out of the car and waving as he drove off. She hadn't told her father that this was a date, nor had she told him that Matthew would be here with her. She was very relieved (yet very nervous) when she saw Matthew waiting at the gate for her. He closed the distance between them.

"Hey," he smiled, looking like a damned angel with his slightly unkempt hair and his stupid bouncy curl. Anya was trying not to blush at the very thought that this was a _date_.

"Hey," she returned softly, fiddling with her hair. She'd tried to get it braided again like that one night, and she was pretty sure it looked terrible, but she tried to ignore that for now.

"You ready to go in?" Matthew hummed. She nodded, and they entered the schoolgrounds.

The fete itself was held on the oval, and it was hardly anything spectacular. There were little games about that the children had set up, and there were many food stalls. On the far end of the oval, there was a small collection of telescopes for those who wanted to watch the stars tonight. "You seem nervous," Matthew frowned, petting Anya's shoulder. She almost jumped when he did so, having not been paying attention.

"Oh?.. Oh!" she gasped, getting all flustered. "Sorry! It is just that this is a-.. A date! And, I-.. I!-.."

"It's alright," he shrugged, returning his hands to his pockets. "This doesn't have to be a date if you don't want it to. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable, Anya."

"No, no," she mumbled, pulling up her scarf and glancing around to everywhere but at Matthew. "I want this to be a date. I'm just nervous. I've never.. um, been on a date before, s-so."

"Me neither," admitted Matthew, looking up and smiling. "I'm just as shaky as you, actually. I think this big hoodie just hides it," and he laughed sweetly. Anya couldn't help but join in. If anything, Matthew made her feel happy and giddy, as stupid and cliché as that sounded. It was the actual 'date' that gave her the jitters.

"Uhm, so," murmured Matthew, looking around. "Do you want to get some food?"

"I don't know.." she said quietly, searching for a vendor that might be selling something she wanted. "Um, I'd like a snowcone.."

"I'll get one too, then," he sighed, leading her over to the little stall. He bought two snowcones, one with red syrup, and one with blue. He offered blue to Anya. She took it, and they continued to wander about the fete. Matthew stopped every now and then to play one of the games, asking Anya to hold his snowcone while he participated in the festivities. Anya felt too awkward to actually join in. Even though Matthew was quite shy, he could still be a socialite when he wanted, and she simply wasn't a people person.

"We should go to the telescopes," said Matthew as he took Anya's empty cone and tossed it in a bin along with his own. "The sky's really nice tonight. You like stars, Anya?"

"I think they're interesting," she nodded, walking closely alongside Matthew as they crossed the oval to reach the telescopes. As the fete was a fundraiser for the school, they had to pay a few dollars to gain access to them, but Matthew paid for the two of them and they both set their eyes to the telescopes.

"Anya, can you see that purple-y star?" Matthew asked, angling his telescope a little and pointing up. She pouted and shuffled over to his telescope, looking through it and smiling.

She nodded a bit. "Yes, I can see it now. It looks like the colour of your eyes."

"I was about to say it looked like your eyes," Matthew laughed quietly, giving her shoulder a little nudge.

"It is more your violet," she argued simply, petting his head.

After that, they walked together to the hill, sitting down on it beside one another. Luckily, it hadn't rained for a while, and the grass was all dry. This hill was from the side of the oval, and if they were to walk up it a little, they would be at the main ground of the fete.

"Has this been a fun thing for you? I don't remember you playing any of the games," said Matthew quietly, resting one arm on his knees and leaving the other, the one closer to Anya, conveniently free in the space between them. Anya mirrored the gesture, but she was too cowardly to actually do anything about it.

"I don't think these things are very fun," she shrugged. "I liked the telescopes, though. And I, uh."

"Yes?" Matthew mumbled, turning to look at her. She flushed and looked down.

"It's dumb."

"Go ahead and say it."

"It's really dumb."

"Anya."

She puffed and buckled. "I liked being here with you."

Matthew's cheeks pinkened and he smiled dumbly down at the ground. "I like being here with you too."

"Sorry," she huffed, leaning her head down and hiding her eyes against her arm. "That was really stupid and embarrassing and I am sorry, Matthew."

"You don't need to be sorry about anything." And there it was. His hand had landed on hers. It had been deliberate, yet she still flinched a bit at the touch. She pulled away accidentally, and scolded herself for it. "Oh, uhm-" Anya looked up, but only to move her hand back to Matthew's. She then promptly hid her face again, embarrassed beyond relief.

Matthew smiled and moved his hand so that their fingers could lace together, and it was awkward at first, and both of their hands were cold, but together they began to warm. "I heard that they're going to have fireworks," Matthew said quietly, gently squeezing Anya's hand. She instinctively squeezed back, and he took it as a good sign. "Do you like fireworks?"

"They're a little loud," Anya murmured. "But they're pretty. So yes."

They stayed like that a little while, both avoiding looking at each other, but holding hands and blushing. That was until a loud crack and a burst of colour alerted them to the beginning of the fireworks. Luckily, it was in front of them from their spot on the hill, so all they had to do was look up. Anya turned, watching Matthew as he sat in awe of the blossoming fire flowers up in the sky. As his face was illuminated in blue, green, orange, pink, she couldn't help but admire him. She was a lucky girl to be on a date with such a sweet young man. After catching herself staring, she directed her attention to the booming beauty of the fireworks.

"It's amazing that a school can afford fireworks," Anya commented quietly after the last cracker had gone off.

"I don't know why they have a fundraiser fete if they can afford fireworks," Matthew scoffed quietly. There was a moment where they turned to each other to laugh, but their breath hitched and something seemed to be pulling them together. "Anya?" Matthew mumbled, hesitantly leaning in to the stationary girl.

"Yes?" she murmured, looking away embarrassedly.

"Can I.. Can I kiss you?"

The question left Matthew and echoed in Anya's mind. It was a case of _this is it_, and _my first kiss is going to be now. _Yet, as much as she tried, she found it so very hard to utter an answer. As words had escaped her, she weakly nodded her head, and Matthew closed the distance between their lips. For a first kiss, it was soft, and it was chaste as anything. Anya had closed her eyes in fear, but relaxed and felt as if she could melt against this charming boy in front of her.

Their moment was interrupted by a rude little child, probably one that went to the primary school here and was playing around at the fete. "Lesbians!" he cried, pointing accusingly to Matthew and Anya with a chubby finger. "Ew, lesbians!" Matthew narrowed his eyes and stared up at the child. He was pretty sure he was a man. Anya just looked down, embarrassed. It seemed the child's mother had heard him crying out, as she had scurried over to apologize.

"I'm so sorry," she frowned, whispering scolding words to her son. "He won't bother you again."

And in the manliest voice Matthew could muster, he said a gruff '_don't worry about it_', shocking both mother and child.

"Maybe I should get a haircut," said Matthew as he led Anya back out to the school gate. It was now the end of the fair, and people were being made to go the hell home. Anya had to wait for her father to pick her up, and Matthew? Well, Anya had no idea how he was going to get home. "It's bad enough half of my teachers think I'm a girl."

"It's not like you're actually girly," Anya argued quietly. She was hesitant, but she reached up with her free hand and pet Matthew's curls. Yes, free hand. Because these two hadn't unlatched their hands from when they had first joined back on the hill. "You're quite a man."

"It's nice to hear you say that," he laughed quietly, shrugging and sitting down on the stone wall just past the school fence. "Although I'm still quite a feminine guy, supposedly. Yeah, 'cos I have curls and a thin face. Oh, and I'm not _loaded_ with muscle."

"I like you how you are," Anya said quietly, looking down. "I mean, I understand you. I am not one of the pretty girls."

"I've always thought you were beautiful," Matthew frowned, watching as she sat beside him.

"Perhaps in your eyes," she murmured, glancing up. "But that doesn't make me _one of the pretty girls_. I don't fit the criteria, if you understand that."

"I understand you entirely," Matthew nodded, shuffling a tiny bit closer. "Well, we can be the odd ones out together. How does that sound?"

"It sounds great, Matthew."

They waited there a while, chatting quietly about anything and everything. Anya's father had been stuck in traffic, according to a text she received, so they had quite some time to chat. Matthew still hadn't revealed how he was to get home, and Anya thought it smart to ask. "Matthew?" she hummed softly, gently kicking her legs back and forth. "How are you getting home tonight?"

"Oh, uh, about that," he laughed softly, but Anya could tell it was nervous laughter rather than the mirthful sort. "Can I get a ride with you? Since we live close together? I meant to ask your dad when he dropped you off, but he drove away before I had the chance."

"Oh," Anya sighed quietly. "Yes, sure. Uhm, he doesn't know that we're-.." She paused. Wait, what were they? What could she say now? Damn it, Anya, you've backed yourself into a corner! With every passing second of silence, she felt her heart gradually threaten to burst out of her chest.

"What are we, by the way?" asked Matthew in a soft voice, glancing down to their joined hands. "Like, is this just a one-off date, a-and, uhm, the kiss, I-"

"I don't know," Anya stammered, going all red and staring away. "What do you want us to be?"

"If you want to be my girlfriend, I'd-"

"Yes!" Anya interrupted, looking up at him for a moment before looking back to the road. "Erm, I mean, yes, I'd like to be your.. your girlfriend."

At last, Ivan pulled up, and the two teens hopped off the wall and walked towards the car. Anya opened the door on the passenger seat's side. "Hey, Dad?" she said quietly, hand still in Matthew's, although out of sight. "Can Matthew get a ride home with us?" Ivan nodded, and she let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Then, Matthew and Anya filed into the back seat, hands resting on the seat between them.

"Did you two have fun at the fete?" Ivan asked as he pulled back out onto the main road.

"Yes," answered Anya so that Matthew wouldn't have to. She knew that her dad could come off as frightening, although he seemed to be pretty calm at the moment. Then again, he seemed to be pretty okay with Matthew in general. He _had_ thought that Anya and Matthew were to have sex when it was only a harmless sleepover. "We got snowcones and looked through telescopes." _We also kissed_, she thought, blushing just at the idea.

"It was nice," Matthew added kind of uselessly. Neither teen had much more to say for the rest of the ride, and so Ivan turned on the radio.

At last, Ivan pulled up outside Matthew's house, and waited for the boy to hop out. "See you at school on Monday," Anya smiled softly. He nodded and smiled in return. She wasn't expecting him to lean in and kiss here again. Yet he did. And then, like he hadn't just caused her heart and to be set aflame and aflutter, he hopped out of the car, waving as Ivan began to drive the short distance to their house.

"Are you two-" Ivan started, and Anya just squeaked, interrupting him. "I see."

Perhaps three weeks of odd dates and house visits and dumb pizza nights together, Matthew invited Anya over to his house after school on a particular Monday night. He didn't necessarily have anything planned, but little did he know that it was a night that would bring with it many new things.

"-And that's why you never take a polar bear skiing." Matthew chuckled, hopping on the bus with Anya close behind. Their hands were held; they had adjusted a little better to the whole dating thing. Anya sat in the window seat as she always did, and Matthew leant over, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't have a polar bear to take skiing in the first place," Anya smiled down at her boyfriend, reaching up a hand to gently tousle his hair. "I would certainly not allow my nonexistent polar bear to get caught on my ski pole."

They were both quite aware of Alfred and Julchen sitting in the back seat. They always knew, of course. They just ignored their gossip as much as they could. But every now and then, Anya or Matthew would catch their names among the whispers, and grow anxious much too quickly. They were both quite sure that they were a common target for those two. For now, they focused on each others company, and relaxed.

"I didn't say he was caught," Matthew argued quietly, growing sleepy as he always did when someone would play with his hair. "Kumakichi just.. He wrapped around it," he nodded, smiling a bit.

"I thought his name was Kumajirou," Anya mused, bravely leaning down and kissing the top of Matthew's head. He was always fond of top-of-the-head kisses, and she made good use of it with her height advantage.

"Oh, darn," he puffed. "It is Kumajirou. I forgot again."

After their good laugh over Matthew forgetting his own (very odd) pet's name, they arrived at the right stop, and stood to get off. Luckily, by this point, Julchen and Alfred were long gone, so it was easy to lessen their anxieties. "I should just run in and get the bag I packed for your house tonight," she smiled. "I'll be right back, mmhm?" she smiled, before scampering down the street a little and dashing into her yard. Matthew smiled at the ground and awaited her return.

When Anya came back, she had a different bag slung over her shoulder, and she was smiling just a little wider. Matthew extended his arm, and she wrapped hers around it, and they started the walk to Matthew's house. It didn't take long, but it allowed them some content time of soft chatter before Francis would dance around them and say either vulgar or sickly sweet romantic things that, regardless of which he spoke of, would make Anya and Matthew both feel like they wanted to barf. They managed to avoid this today, however, as Francis was out at work, and would be until much later, midnight even.

Honestly, after all their time together, Anya truly felt that she could be comfortable around Matthew, no longer getting incredibly flustered when they would kiss or hold hands. He was such a sweet and sensitive young man, a bright sunflower in a dreary and boring world. Anya would go so far as to say she loved him, although she wouldn't speak that out loud until the time called for it. Sometimes she would ponder if he felt the same.

"Papa's out," Matthew remarked, taking Anya by the hand and leading her upstairs to his room. "We've got the house to ourselves," he nodded. "So we can play _Band Hero_ as loud as we want and no-one will care. Except the neighbors. And possibly the cat."

"We should play _Band Hero_," Anya smiled, dropping her bag and taking off her shoes. And then they played _Band Hero_ for the rest of the afternoon. Anya was on vocals, because she could always hit the high notes, and Matthew alternated between drums and guitar. It was an old version of the game, one on PS2, and ergo all the songs were old. Anya knew perhaps half of them. To the ones she didn't, she would mumble the lyrics into the microphone and try to match the line that showed her what note she was supposed to hit. Anya would laugh whenever Matthew played the drums, because apparently drummers got all the chicks.

After an invigorating three-hour marathon of virtual band-ing, the pair turned off the television and retreated up to Matthew's room. "I can't feel my vocal chords," whined Anya softly, feeling quite hoarse indeed.

"You're the one who could only do vocals," Matthew quipped with a little smile. "You want some water? I can go and get you some?"

"I'd love that," she nodded, stretching and sitting down on Matthew's bed.

He disappeared, and returned a moment later, this time wielding a small glass of water for his girlfriend. She pretty much sculled it, and let out a little sigh. "Thank you," she smiled, putting the glass on Matthew's bedside table. He shortly sat down beside her, and smiled dumbly.

"Hey, Anya, want to know a secret?" he hummed, pushing up his glasses.

"Sure," she mused, raising a brow. She was pretty sure she knew where this one was going.

He smiled, little dimples in his cheeks. "You're beautiful."

"You already tried the 'want to know a secret' trick on me this morning," Anya scoffed, leaning in and kissing Matthew's nose. "You can't trick me twice."

After a little while of comfortable silence, Matthew coughed and stuttered out an incomprehensible sentence. "Excuse me?" Anya said quietly, tilting her head. "I didn't catch a word."

"Do you want to try making out?" he repeated quickly, cheeks a little pink. Anya's cheeks followed suit, and she just looked down a bit.

"Uhm, I'm not sure what I'd do, but okay," she said quietly. "Do you know what to do?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "Um, I did look up a guide on the Internet."

"Okay, I'll follow your lead then," Anya nodded awkwardly. "I've only seen making out in movies, but I think we start by-.."

She leant in, and their lips met. Matthew pressed his back, and everything was normal. After a moment, they both leant back, but rested their foreheads together. "We aren't doing something right," Matthew mumbled. "It might be the whole French kiss thing, that's done a lot in making out. I think."

"Okay?.. That's the tongue one, isn't it," she frowned, sticking out her tongue to think about it. "I'- noh shu ih I ca-"

"Speak with your tongue in your mouth, silly," Matthew scoffed, poking Anya's nose.

"I'm not sure if I can fathom just how it works," she murmured after retreating her tongue.

"Okay.. Try kissing me, and we kind of open our mouths." Matthew suggested. Anya shrugged and complied, opening her mouth a bit and finding how her soft lips would fit a bit nicer to his. "There we go," Matthew nodded once they both pulled back. "Okay, now the tongue thing," he huffed, and they locked lips again. Matthew tried to initiate the French kiss, poking his tongue awkwardly into Anya's mouth. It was the weirdest thing Anya had ever experienced in her whole life. It was kind of wet and uncomfortable, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was supposed to be like that, or if she was doing it wrong. In the way of _monkey see, monkey do_, Anya tried to press her tongue into Matthew's mouth, but couldn't force herself to do it. She pulled back, glaring at the trail of saliva that had laced their tongues together. She wiped her mouth.

"That wasn't as nice as it looks in the movies," she admitted quietly.

"Yeah, actually," frowned Matthew. "Wanna just kiss normally and like hug and stuff?"

"That sounds a lot better," she agreed softly, leaning forward and essentially laying on top of him. At first, she just smiled down at him, pecking his lips and nose, but then the kisses became a little more serious, their lips pressing to the point of becoming a little stiff. Matthew found his arms around her back, loosely embracing her and trying not to get tangled in her hair.

"You're beautiful," he smiled to her, a big, dorky, lovey-dovey smile.

"You're beautiful," she argued in a quiet huff, gently hitting his chest. "Now shush, because I am trying to kiss you, and I cannot while you talk to me." Matthew shrugged and shut the hell up. They just kissed a little longer, nothing special, nothing worthy of description such as 'heated' or 'hot and wet'. Just sweet smooches until their lips were numb.

"Hey, Anya?" Matthew asked when their kissing rhythm had faltered.

"Yes?" she said quietly, resting her chin on his chest.

"S-since we're, uhm, we're both-" he stumbled on his words, and Anya couldn't help but wonder what had caused his sudden worry. "Uhm, I turned sixteen, the other week, remember?" Indeed, Matthew had invited Anya out to dinner for his birthday like a gentleman. They had gone to Starbucks for coffee, and then to a fancy restaurant for the actual dinnertime meal. It was a lovely evening.

"I remember," she nodded, pouting a bit. "Is something making you worried?"

"Uh, I just," Matthew mumbled. "You know, since we're both.. we're legal now," he gulped, pretty sure that he was digging his own grave. "We could.. I mean-.. Would you want to?" Anya paused to think seriously about the question. Yes, it made her very red-cheeked, but it was a serious situation and it was unfolding right in front of her, and she needed a thought-out answer. She loved Matthew, so what could be the harm in it? Yes, losing one's virginity was supposedly a big deal, but.. But, it would be to her loving boyfriend, and it was her own body; she could do whatever she wanted with it. She murmured a hesitant 'yes', very flustered at the thought.

"Are you.. Uhm," Matthew coughed. "Are you a hundred percent sure?" he asked, looking up at her with concern in his eyes. "I-.. Erm, I don't have pro-.. A-.. erm, you know," he mumbled embarrassedly.

"I'll go to the chemist before school," Anya supplied quietly, hiding her face in Matthew's school blazer. "I'll get some of those pills. The ones you see in movies. And learn about in Sex Ed." And she'd said it. The word.

"Right," wheezed Matthew, not sure if he had the courage to do this. And did Anya _have_ to say the damned word? He was embarrassed enough.

"Well," Matthew coughed, forcing his eyes to meet Anya's. "Uhm-.. If we're going to do this, could you be a dear and lock the door?" Anya, seeing as this was a simple and necessary thing, got up and turned the lock on Matthew's door. That was it. They were going to do this. She bit her lip and settled herself back on top of Matthew. She had little to no idea what she was doing, but she was a little out of it, that was for sure. Perhaps that was due to all the _Band Hero_ rotting her brain and vocal chords. It was probably more like she couldn't actually believe that this was happening, and she was in a state of shock.

"Anya?" Matthew said quietly, giving a weak smile. "Uhm, okay.. I'll.. Take off my shirt-" he started, throwing off his blazer and much more hesitantly lifting the bottom of his shirt. "I've got chub, I'm warning you," he laughed quietly, acting as if he wasn't totally nervous to the core. Anya just sat and stared, absolutely amazed. This was happening. She was going to have sex with Matthew Williams.

"I've got more than you," she retorted quietly, just watching as his shirt was removed and put aside.

"Can I ask you to prove it?" he asked, tilting his head and looking at her with the reddest face she'd ever seen.

Anya removed her cardigan and suspenders without any trouble, but when it came to her undershirt, she paused with her fingers at the lowest button. "A-Anya, if you're not okay with this, you can say no at any point, 'kay?" Matthew said quietly.

"No, it's fine," she forced the words out, taking a deep breath and unbuttoning her shirt one part at a time. Finally, the single button that kept her shirt from falling aside rested just in front of her chest, covering her bra. She quickly realised that her underwear didn't match, and felt embarrassed all over again. "I'm okay with this, y-.. Yeah." She was just nervous, honestly.

At last, her shirt was unbuttoned fully, and she pulled her arms out of it. She then put it aside, as Matthew had done with his own shirt. "See?" she laughed softly, poking at her sides. She tried to pretend that Matthew's eyes weren't on her boobs right away. He was a gentleman and moved his gaze to where she was pointing, thankfully. But then again, Anya supposed it was fair that he was in awe. He'd probably never seen boobs this close before. And Anya, well. She had quite an impressive pair. Julchen had once insulted her, saying something about how her breast size didn't count because she was fat. Anya just retorted that Julchen would only say such a thing because she had mosquito bites, and was jealous.

"Your chub is cute," Matthew responded softly, also trying his best to be calm and not panic in the way of _oh my god I'm going to have sex with my beautiful girlfriend_. "I think we're supposed to kiss between pieces of clothing," he managed, and Anya smiled a bit and complied. That seemed to calm them both down a bit.

"What next?" she asked quietly, leaning down a bit as her position before had been quite awkward.

"Um, my slacks?" Matthew suggested quietly. Anya shuffled off of him a moment so that he could rid himself of them. It was a little odd to sit back on him, now that he was only wearing boxers. "Your skirt," he mumbled.

Anya nodded and slowly took it off: slowly not to tease him or anything, slowly because there were dumb buttons and it was actually hard to remove sometimes. Once it was gone, she sat very, very awkwardly on his stomach, only in her underwear. Once again, she was reminded that this wasn't a dream. She was in some state of shocked silence, but made herself speak as not to seem awkward to Matthew. Instead of talking, she leant down and kissed Matthew, resting her elbows to either side of his shoulders. His arms slowly rose and looped around her back, and Anya felt his hands at the clasp of her bra. Ah, this was a thing she'd heard about from her brother.

Supposedly, it was absolutely impossible for a man to undo a woman's bra. It was a feat that, by nature, was only to be done by lesbians. Because men just couldn't do it. They didn't know how. Supposedly, Nikolai had gone through that problem with his girlfriend, a bubbly young girl called Amelia. _The bra clasp_, he had warned Anya. _You're lucky you know how to get rid of the damned things_. Actually, Nikolai hadn't provided context for those statements. Anya had just heard them over the breakfast table. But from what else she knew of her brother, she knew that that must have been the case.

"Are you having trouble?" Anya asked after a while of fiddling fingers at her back.

"Yeah, actually," sighed Matthew, dropping his hands in defeat. "Sorry."

"I'll do it," she mumbled, cheeks red as she sat back up and reached to her back to unhook it. She had it in a second, and Matthew gave her a look of _you're a miracle worker, a_lthough he was lost in the miracle of boobs as soon as Anya's were freed. After not getting a response for a few moments, she glanced down and saw Matthew looking like he'd just seen God. He probably had. Anya hesitantly lay down again, and could tell how heavily embarrassed Matthew was about having spooky boobs pressed against his chest.

"Sorry," Anya squeaked quietly, under the impression that her breasts were actually an annoyance to Matthew. "I, um-"

"Can I?" Matthew mumbled, seemingly bewitched. Anya wondered if she should have just left her bra on. Anya creased her brow, nodded, and tried not to be alarmed when Matthew's soft fingers touched at one of her breasts. This was definitely new. Oh boy. "So soft," he cooed meekly.

"If you ask me, they're big and annoying," Anya mumbled, glancing away out of embarrassment as Matthew went ahead and cupped them in his hands.

As if a kid in a candy shop, Matthew seemed content just to touch at her boobs for a little bit. Anya didn't mind, mostly because his hands were soft, and it was making for procrastination of the actual event. The big thing. The actual thing they were to do. Yes, she was agreeing that she wanted to do it, but that didn't mean she couldn't be really intensely nervous. Really, she had so many questions. Would it hurt? How long would it take? What would it feel like? Would it feel bad? Those and many more were to be unanswered until the time for the big event actually came.

It seemed Matthew finally grew bored of playing about with Anya's boobs, and he hesitantly let them go. "I see why you're bi," Anya joked quietly, awkwardly brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"They're like big cushions," Matthew hummed, all doe-eyed and whatnot. "B-but, uh, back to task, right?"

"Yeah," Anya nodded, putting her hands to either side of Matthew's head and leaning forward. "I don't know what to do," she admitted. "S-so, um."

Matthew was incredibly, _incredibly_ hesitant to take off his boxers. When he did, he would be naked. Naked. _Naked_. _Nude_. And he would feel mortified. He just prayed that Anya wasn't one of those people who would glance at a genital and then turn gay. Because he'd heard stories about people like that. He felt bad for even thinking of asking Anya to remove her underwear first. "Why don't we do it at the same time?" Anya suggested quietly, solving the problem she didn't even know Matthew had. "T-.. Erm, that way, it will be fairer, yes?.." Okay, perhaps she was getting a touch excited at the thought of all this.

Anya shuffled off of Matthew, and they both hesitantly shed their final pieces of clothing. And there they were. Naked. Anya was nervous about sitting back on Matthew again, but he encouraged it, and she did as he asked. For now, she just leant down and kissed him, although her face was burning up with the embarrassment of being naked atop her naked boyfriend. Although they were void of clothing now, neither teen had any idea how to start. Yes, they'd seen imprecise sex scenes in various movies and novels and whatnot, but that gave them no guide at all as to what they were to do now.

"Um," said Matthew, breaking apart their kiss to take a breath. "Maybe you.. Should, uh, tou-.. Touch it?.. I don't know, sorry, I-"

"Yeah, that's probably the right thing to do," she squeaked, shuffling back and staring down at Matthew's package. Oh great. Unsurely, she lowered one hand, and just touched it for a second. She then looked up to Matthew, who looked so red to the point where he seemed like he may just pass out. "Is that-.. Um," she murmured, keeping her hand there and smiling awkwardly. She too was very red, and knew she would be throughout the whole process.

"Ahhah," Matthew laughed weakly. "I'm just nervous. Yeah, like that. But-.. Um, what's the word.. Stroking? Maybe?" He cried, leaning back from where he'd been resting on his elbows.

"Okay," Anya nodded, and tried not to look as she gently let her fingers run up and down Matthew's member. She was an adult, she reminded herself. She could do this. After a little while of this, Matthew made a quiet noise of _okay, that's enough_, and Anya stopped. It seemed that Matthew's flaccid appendage was no longer flaccid. Ah.

She leant forward again, awkwardly resting on Matthew. "Did I do that right?" she asked softly, unsure of how she was feeling.

"Yeah," he smiled a bit, leaning in and pecking Anya's lips. "Uh-.. Now I think we-.. You know, with the-.." Anya gulped.

"Yeah, okay," she nodded weakly, kissing Matthew once more before shuffling backward and mentally readying herself for this. This was it. The last chance she had to pull out. But soon enough, all thought of quitting left her mind, and she focused on the task at hand. She was an adult, and she could do this. And slowly, ever so slowly, she positioned herself. Anya took a deep breath, and lowered herself to Matthew, holding that breath in as she felt him inside of her. This was definitely.. well, it was odd and new. Matthew had gasped, staring up at Anya in awe. "Um," she bumbled.

It took them a little while of consideration, but they managed to work out where to go from there. Anya would raise and lower herself, and Matthew would try to buck his hips in time with these movements. It was hard, and he wasn't very good at it, but hey, everyone gets better with practice. Over time, their combined movements became more primal, and hastier. It didn't take too long for the two of them to reach their climax, and Matthew had an urge to apologize when he released in Anya. She separated herself from her lover, and just lay beside him, panting quietly and in utter shock and admiration of everything. The afterglow was lovely, and the rested in each other's arms.

"That was.." Anya mumbled, staring up at Matthew from where she'd been pressing her face to his chest.

"I know," he laughed breathily, letting his hands tangle in Anya's hair. "You're so beautiful, eh," Matthew cooed, tiredly kissing all over her face.

"You're beautiful," she argued, just nuzzling against him, as she was too weary to do anything else. "_Eh_."

The rest of the week passed smoothly, with Matthew and Anya growing closer than ever before. They were happy together to say the least. But the following Monday, something was wrong. Matthew wasn't at the bus stop. Anya assumed he was sick, but was concerned that he didn't call her or text her about it. She sighed and took the bus alone. She wondered if it was just the light, or if Julchen had smirked at her when she walked past. Anya dismissed it. It was lonely and dull without Matthew. He had a good immune system, so he didn't get sick very often. It must have hit him hard.

He wasn't there tomorrow, either. Anya could've sworn for a moment she caught glimpses of him in the corridors, but it had almost always been that terrible brat, Alfred. She and Matthew didn't share a single class, so it was possible that he was here, and that she just missed him between classes and at breaks. This thought was what began to cause doubt and fear in Anya's heart.

"Hey, Snowflake," said Julchen, staring down at Anya. By this point, it was Thursday, still without a sign of Matthew. Anya was curled up alone in one of the corners of the room, eating a sandwich half-heartedly. She missed him. "What happened? Your gay boyfriend ditch you?"

"He's bi, actually," Anya mumbled through her mouthful of sandwich. "Go away."

"I dunno, he's pretty gay if he had sex with you once and ran for the hills." Julchen snickered, and Anya forced herself to swallow. Oh. How did Anya know?

"He did _not_ run for the hills," Anya retorted quietly, putting her lunch away. She'd lost her appetite as soon as Julchen had appeared. "He's home sick today." That's what she thought. She actually had no proof. Matthew wasn't answering his phone.

"No he's not," Julchen smiled. "He doesn't want to be with you anymore. He's worked out who his real friends are, and who's a fat bitch." Anya quivered, unable to reply. That couldn't be true. That wasn't how Matthew thought, really. "Oh, yeah, he hangs out with us now. Sucks to be you, Snowflake." And she left.

Anya was jittery and anxious for the rest of the day. By the end of it, she shakily made her way to the bus, absolutely full to the brim with fear. Had Matthew truly left her because of those stupid reasons? It was just.. It was so out of character for him, yet a small part of Anya's heart believed Julchen's words. She was truly the bitch queen. She froze as she saw Matthew being pulled up the bus aisle. She went to say something, but he passed her, Julchen in front of him, and Alfred behind him. He had ignored Anya completely. She felt her heart curl into itself, and she just stared blankly out the window for the whole ride home. She didn't want to be alone again. Anything but that. When she got home, she started to cry.

Anya shifted her weight from foot to foot. Friday morning. She felt cold and quiet, as if she wanted to become a recluse and never leave this room. Anya's heart had been poisoned with doubt, and seeing Matthew yesterday? Well, it made her feel as if she'd been stabbed. In all honesty, she didn't want to go to school today. It wasn't as if she could skip, and she wasn't ill. Her father could always tell when she was lying. She half-heartedly threw on her uniform, staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and ugly because she'd been crying last night. To sleep, even.

She headed downstairs, sitting sadly down at the table. She even tried to act cheery so that no-one would ask questions. Nikolai was saying something about the plague, but Anya wasn't exactly listening. She just shoveled down her cereal, stole a piece of toast from her dad, and left the house. It was raining again today, as it had been on the day she'd first met Matthew. Ow. She bumbled to the bus shelter, on unsteady and nervous feet. She slid over and skidded along the concrete a little ways down the street, and tried not to cry in pain and embarrassment as she noted that the whole side of her uniform was muddied and wet from her slip. At last, she reached the shelter, and sat down on the bench, hiding her face in her hands.

"Anya," the voice was the one she'd been craving. Yet, with all that poison and doubt, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to be hearing it right now or not. "Anya, I'm here." Anya looked up, finding Matthew to be standing there in his bright yellow raincoat,

"Where have you been?" she quivered, lowering her hands and just looking up at him.

"You see these?" Matthew murmured, pointing to the few dark spots, bruises, on his face. "They've been trying to keep me away from you."

"Matthew," Anya mumbled, reaching up and looping her arms around his neck. She held him close, and he returned the embrace.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Julchen's total bitch queen extraordinaire."

"An extension of the title, huh?" Anya cooed quietly, standing up so that she could hug Matthew properly. "Oh-.. I'm covered in mud," she murmured, looking down to her side. Matthew continued to hug her anyway.

"Doesn't matter. I'm here today because Julchen had someone break her arm," Matthew nodded a bit. "Gee, I wonder who that was." Anya laughed softly and hugged Matthew tighter to her chest.

"You're a hero," she cooed quietly. "She said you'd run out on me, you know."

"I do know," he nodded. "And I broke her arm. Uh, I mean, someone did. If I disappear again, just come to my house. Alfred 'borrowed' my phone."

They chuckled and eventually let each other go, just settling for holding hands. "What about at school?" Anya asked softly.

"It broke my heart to be dragged past you before I could say anything," Matthew admitted, leaning in and pecking her cheek. "I think Julchen's kinda scared of me now, so it should be easier to get away. And my brother? Well, I can always kick him in the balls."

"I love you," Anya said quietly, not looking at him. "I love you."

Matthew didn't even hesitate, and whimpered back 'I love you too'.

They leant in and kissed as was per usual now. And then Matthew pulled back, smiling just as widely as Anya was. "Oh, Anya?" he cooed quietly.

"Yes?" she mumbled, tilting her heart. Her heart was pounding, and honestly, everything just felt _right _with Matthew here. Instead of answering, he leant in and kissed a spot just to the side of her mouth.

"You had jam, eh."

* * *

**ok so i accidentally wrote a 13k oneshot when im suppoesd to be doing super zeroes or something**

**ive lost all inspiration and im sorry its probably gonna be discontinued**

**but that means i can concentrate on writing more new fics so uwu**

**ive come to love ruscan and i love nyotalia so here**


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